Surrey Schools students and staff celebrate International Women’s Day
Tomorrow is International Women’s Day, an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of women around the world and shed light on issues of gender equality, reproductive rights and domestic violence, among other challenges.
The district recognizes International Woman’s Day as significant in furthering women’s rights and raising awareness of global issues that women face. Teachers in classrooms and schools across Surrey and White Rock are sharing resources with students to learn more about the women’s rights movement as well as the ongoing social, cultural, political and economical challenges of women today.
For the month of March, the library at Fraser Heights Secondary has a selection of recommended reads on inspirational women through history, accompanied by quotes and iconography from the likes of Anne Frank, Malala Yousafzai, Michelle Obama, Viola Davis and Serena Williams. The selected books include:
- Amazing Women of the Middle East: 25 Stories to Inspire Girls Everywhere by Wafa Tamowska
- Born A Girl: It Takes Courage by Alice Dussutour
- Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time by Tanya Lee Stone
- Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Inspiring Young Changemakers by Jess Harriton
- Her Courage Rises: 50 Trailblazing Women of British Columbia and the Yukon by Haley Healey
- Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World by Kelly Jensen
- I Am A Feminist: Claiming the F-word in Turbulent Times by Monique Polak
- Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers by Taisia Kitaiskaia
- Muslim Women are Everything: Stereotype-shattering Stories of Courage, Inspiration and Adventure by Seema Yasmin
- the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda Lovelace
- Queens of the Resistance: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by Brenda Jones & Krishan Trotman
- Queens of the Resistance: Nancy Pelosi by Brenda Jones & Krishan Trotman
- Self-Love for Small-Town Girls by Lang Leav
- Stories for South Asian Super Girls: A Treasure Trove of 50 Illustrated Biographies of Amazing South Asian Women by Raj Kaur Khaira
- Underestimated: The Wisdom and Power of Teenage Girls by Chelsey Goodan
- Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation by Tiya Miles
District staff have also compiled a number of classroom resources and articles for International Women’s Day from all around the world. These resources include:
- The United Nations: For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment. (theme for IWD 2025)
- The Government of Canada: International Women’s Day 2025
- Canadian Women’s Foundation: The Facts about Barriers Girls Face
- TED Talks: Kimberlé Crenshaw – The urgency of intersectionality
- Nobel Women’s Initiative: Mayan k’iche’ activist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Rigoberta Menchu Tum
- Egale.ca: Affirming and Inclusive Language
- YWCA: Trans or Cis, Women are Stronger Together
- Women Enabled International: The Right to Education for Women and Girls with Disabilities (content warning: references to sexual violence)
For more information on International Women’s Day, visit internationalwomensday.com
